This Woven Fresh Pear Tart is a breeze to make and a show-stopping vegan dessert! Thinly sliced fruit sits atop a simple fig jam spread across a buttery, flaky crust. This customizable recipe is as beautiful as it is delicious!
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In all of the apple excitement of September, it can be easy to overlook pears. Colorful and full of juicy flavor, I want to start using them more often! For some funny nostalgia, check out this post for Baked Granola Pears (one of my first-ever recipes!).
I love a design-forward dessert (two favorites including the Tessellated Rhubarb Almond Cake and this Mango Sticky Rice with a Mango Rose). There is just something so fun about serving a sweet treat that is as beautiful as it is delicious.
Tips for Making a Woven Fruit Design on this Fresh Pear Tart
The full process for building this tart design is outlined in the recipe card, but here are a few specific tips that will help you create your best tart art:
- Do your best to keep all pear slices the same size (not too thick and not too thin!)
- Stack lines of pears very tightly inside the crust. This will ensure maximum color contrast between pieces.
- Add a slight curve as you lay down varying lines of differently colored fruit. This adds an undulating "wave" effect.
- Make sure your inner jam filling is not too watery. The stiffness will help the pears stand upright and in one place.
This design was inspired by a recipe in the book Pieometry by Lauren Ko (check out her page here). I really recommend this book!
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Different Types of Pears for this Recipe
Here is a great infographic for different types of pears found in the United States! If you live elsewhere, others may be more accessible to you. It is important to have distinct colors variations to achieve the design outlined below. I used:
- Bosc for the brown section. This is a very crisp pear that is not incredibly sweet. The stiff texture helped with slicing!
- Red Anjou and Green Anjou for the red and green sections. These are both middle-of-the-road pears for sweetness and texture and are very brightly colored.
- Bartlett (or Williams) for the yellow section. This is the softest pear of the bunch, and the most sweet. These pears can bruise easily so you'll see a few sections of that when you look at these photos. That is normal and does not mean anything is wrong with the fruit!
Options to Customize
- Apples can be substituted for pears! A mandoline can help with slicing if you have one.
- Feel free to use another kind of crust, like the graham cracker crust on this vegan peaches and cream tart. or the gingersnap crust on this vegan cranberry custard pie. A store-bought pie crust will work to save some time.
- Any kind of jam you like will work in place of fig preserves. I'd recommend apple butter to keep with the autumnal theme. Alternatively, a coconut whipped cream filling mixed with a dash of cinnamon would be delicious!
I hope you love this recipe! If you give it a try, please let me know over on Instagram or TikTok! Also be sure to leave a rating and review, as it's very helpful for other users!
Other Pies and Tarts
Woven Fresh Pear Tart
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust store-bought or from this flaky galette crust recipe
- Butter for pan (vegan, like Miyokos)
- Four firm pears of choice ideally 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, and 1 brown
- ⅓ cup fig preserves or apple butter
- Splash of nondairy milk or water as needed to thin preserves (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and butter a pie plate or small cake pan (any round dish is fine). Unroll your pie crust to fit inside the plate, pressing to line.
- If you have pie weights, now is a great time to use them as we're baking the crust on its own. If not, take a sheet or parchment and lay it over top of the pie crust. Fill with pie weights, dry beans, or rice. This will help weigh down the crust so it does not puff too much in the oven! Place the "weighted" crust in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and firm. Remove and set aside.
- While crust is baking, begin slicing your pears. This will take a long time but is rather methodical. Stand each pear upright and slice down into 3-4 large sections, avoiding the seeds and the core (but cut as close to the core as possible). Take each wedge and place skin side up on a cutting board. Cut across the pear in 1 millimeter-wide slices from the long edge of the wedge. You do not want the slices so thin that the skin is not visible, but you also do not want them so thick so that they do not bend at all. Do not separate the slices but keep them whole until you're ready to assemble. Repeat with remaining pears.
- In a small bowl, mix fig preserves with a splash of milk (or water) to thin to a spreadable consistency. You don't want this to be too thin as the stiffness will help the pears stand up. Spread the preserve mixture on top of your baked and cooled pie crust.
- Take 7 slices from one of your waiting pears. Keeping them together in a clump, slowly pinch out into a long line. You want the pear pieces to still be touching. Place line of pears in the center of the tart, skin side up. It does not need to reach across the entire surface of the tart.
- Repeat this process with a new color pear, alternating the colors as you go. Feel free to get creative with this and mold curves in the slices to create a woven effect. Have fun with it! It's OK if some slices are taller than others. For the best look, do not spread pear pieces too far apart (this will ensure the maximum amount of colorful skin is visible when looked at from above).
- Once the entire surface of the tart is tightly covered in pears, you're ready to serve! This tart is best when eaten within a couple hours after preparation, as the pears may oxidize as they sit. A splash of lemon juice can help prevent this but be warned - this will of course impact how the pears taste.
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Krindy says
This was so good!
Emily says
Krindy, this is wonderful to hear! Thank you 🙂